T20 has made tremendous advances in recent times - and it looks like Pakistan is warming up to the demands of modern 20-over cricket.
For purists, cricket is a balanced contest between bat and ball. But T20 is not really for the traditionalists. Deep down, a majority of T20 fans want to see eye-catching stroke play, huge sixes and close finishes. And in that particular order.
Similar sentiments prevail in Pakistan as well, although their cricket has witnessed a steep decline in recent times, littered with heavy defeats against top teams and shock losses against ‘minnows’.
There is very little going right for them at the international level, either in red ball or white ball cricket. Which means the ongoing Pakistan Super League is a good opportunity to provide something out of the ordinary, something fans can rally around.
It has been less than a week since the start of the tournament but there are signs that this time, it could be a different story in the PSL.
In the first five matches, the score of 200 was breached five times; in one match, Karachi chased down 235 against Multan fairly comfortably.
Granted, the matches this time have started in the traditionally flat venue of Rawalpindi, unlike previous seasons when the venue saw PSL matches towards the latter part of the tournament.
What might also be helping the scoring rate is the fact that the tournament is being held in the summer months, and not in January-February, as was the case before. It could mean a lot more high-scoring matches in the month-long tournament.
But what does it mean for Pakistan cricket? Frankly, it won’t matter much if overseas players dominate play, especially with the bat, and only serve as a standard for other Pakistan players to live up to.
Like in the match between Multan and Karachi, Pakistan captain Mohammad Rizwan made an unbeaten 105 from 63 balls for Multan, which is acceptable in modern cricket. In the same match, that too in the second innings chasing 235, England batter James Vince smashed 101 from 43 balls. That match perfectly captured how far international players, especially batters, have moved ahead.
But there was a big positive for local talent on Monday. Islamabad opener Sahibzada Farhan, who is ostensibly not in Pakistan’s plans for T20 cricket, hit 106 from 52 balls – a strike rate of over 200. In the chase, Peshawar faltered badly and lost by over 100 runs. But even in that lost cause, dynamic wicketkeeper batter Mohammad Haris smashed 87 from 47 balls in a total of 141.
Farhan is in tremendous form this year. He became only the fifth batter to score four T20 tons in a calendar year, and we are not even half way through 2025.
Farhan showed that the idea of taking your time early and then compensating for it in the latter half is getting phased out, especially since scores of 240 or more are being routinely put up and also chased. A fifty off 35 balls is seen as below par, unless the pitch is poor – which is rare.
Farhan and Haris have set the benchmark for other local batters in the league early on. Whether the high scoring rate can be maintained will depend largely on the nature of surfaces. But more than that, it will be down to the players, especially local, to take on additional risks and go for above par totals, even at the risk of getting bowled out.
It is a chance many T20 teams are taking; par scores are generally not good enough as teams at all levels have understood the dynamics of chasing.
In T20 cricket, top players need to display the ability to strike at over 200 when the going is good. If the local batters can embrace that philosophy, PSL and Pakistan cricket will greatly benefit from it. After all, that will be the norm when the T20 World Cup, which takes place in Sri Lanka and India early next year, rolls around.
